Dress shield



L... D. BERLE DRESS SHIELD Feb, 21, I950 Filed June 13, 1947 I N V EN TOR. Zorn a Dean 13 erZe WW, f

Patented Feb. 21, 1950 UNITED S 1; PATENT OFFICE.

DRESS SHIELD Lorn'aiDoon Berfe, Plh'am Manor; N; Y.

Application June13, 1947=,..Serial No. 754,385

10 Claims.

The. present. inventionrelates to a new and improvedl'dress. shield;

Objects and advantagesoi the invention willbe set. forth in part. hereinafter and in part will. be obvioushereirom, or may be learned by practice with theinvention, the same being realized-and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations pointed out. in the appended claims.

The invention consists in the novel parts, con. structions, arrangements, combinations and improvements herein showntanddescribed.

The accompanying drawings, referredv tov herein and constituting a part hereof, illustrate one embodiment of the invention, and together with the. description, serve toexplain the principles of the invention.

Off the drawings;

Fig. 1. is a. plan view of one ofthe. panels of the dress shield of the present invention,.four. such. panels being used in the formation. of the shield; V

Fig. 2 is a plan view of a. dress shield embodying the invention, a portion being broken away. and another being shownv as turned back in partto-better. illustrate the construction;-

Fig. 3 is a. diagrammatic showing. of the position occupied by the. shield in a dress on the. wearer; and.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of! the shield. ina dress on the wearer, certain parts of the dress. being. broken. away to better. show the shield.

It is. an object of the present invention. to provide a. suitable perspiration shield. particularly adapted for use with dresses or similar wearing. apparel. which do not have. the set-in typeof sleeve, that is, the-commontypeof sleeve. having. aci'rcular seam attaching. the sleeve to the. body. of the garment. The conventionaltype-v of dress shield is made. in a form adapted. for use. with such sl'eeves,.having an arcuate seamjoining two overlapped panels which seam may. be. conveniently positioned over the under arm seam of the sleeve to position and support the shield. Such conventional shields, however, are completely un-- suitable for use with other than the set-in type of sleeve described. Types of dress. sleeves with whichsuch shields cannotbe conveniently used are, for example, the so-call'ed cap or Wing sleeves, neither ofiwhich. is. provided-with an under arm seam. The shield of the present invention provides an efficient and economical device for use with all such types oiv dresses.

Referring now in detail to the illustrative embodiment of the invention shown byway. of. example in the accompanying. drawings, and. refer ring. first to Figs-'2}. the shield is denoted generally by the numeral l0 and comprises four panels of materi'al'li, l'2',. I3 and I4 each of which is of the pattern shown in Fig. 1 and numbered i5. The panels l3 and M are positioned as shown to bring their bodies and corresponding edgesin superposed relationship, as is also the case with. panels H and f2. Theupperand lower pairs of panels .II, l-3 and" I 2, l 4"respectively are stitched together along a central shield seam' I6, and the.- overlapped panels. H, 12 and 1 3,. 14 are thereafter attached together? by stitching throughout their superposed edges.v

In the dress shield I'Uthus formed there isthus. provided a relatively straight margin or edgefl, 2; pair of concavely formed curved margins or edges It, a pair of' convexl'y formed margins or edges l9, and relatively straight end margins or edges 2'0 between edges'lli and I 9. The proper placement of the shield [0 with respect to a dress. having'no under arm sleeve seam is shownin. Fig. 3, ill ustratinga dress having a cap sleeve: 21 which will ordinarily be formed with upper and. lowerseams 2'2 and 23' longitudinally arranged with" respect to' the length. of the sleeve. As shown, the dress'shield is positioned in the sleeve 2| preferably with its central. seam l6 overlying the lowerlongitudinal' seam 23' of the sleeve. The concavely" formed'shield edges [8 are. positioned; toward the outer'end' of the sleeve, while the convexly formed edges l9 are positioned inwardly upwardly to the shoulder'of. the dress.

" of the shield is positioned outwardly in the sleeve.

stated otherwise; any'lines drawn from said ends 20 substantially normal to the axis'of sleeve. 2| will not intersect the central portion or seam IE, but will fall to one end thereof. I

Dresses of. the type with which the shield of the present invention may be conveniently used are quite often provided with shoulder pads 25,. and. the end edges-2B may be attached. by pins or other suitable means to the edges of such pads, as shown in. Fig. 4-. If shoulder pads are not provided in the dress,- it will be apparent that the edges 20 may be secured to the under side of. upper seam 22,. to the sleeve itself, or

otherwiseas may prove: conveniente is indiscated by the placement of pins on the shield II] in Fig. 2, the shield may also be conveniently and securely held in place by pinning or otherwise holding it to the sleeve 2I at one place along the overlapped seams I6 and 23, and at each corner formed by the intersection of edges I1 and I8.

Any suitable material may be used for the panels I of the shield, but it may be found preferable to form the panels II and I3 which are next the wearer when in use of plain cotton or other soft cloth while the panels I2 and I4 which are next the sleeve of a suitable water repellant material.

It will be apparent from the preceding description and drawings that the shield of the present invention may be quickly and easily installed in any type of dress sleeve and does not depend for its support upon an under-arm seam, but rather is suspended from the upper part of the sleeve by means of the end edges 20. The shield provides the necessary fullness for adequate protection of the dress where it is needed, directly under the arm, and also forwardly and backwardly thereof Where the sleeve is often crushed between the arm and either the back or the bosom of the wearer. The edge I! is relatively straight for convenient curvature when fitting the shield and may be placed parallel to the outer end of the sleeve to aid in positioning. The concavely formed edges I8 join the edge I! and attaching end edges 20, and their formation cuts down the bulk of the shield where not needed for protection and makes the shield less noticeable through the open upper part of the sleeve. The edges I9 of the shield are convexly formed as described and shown in order to effect a smooth and easy curvature when the shield is rounded for hanging in the dress. The edges I9 are also so formed to provide a fullness at the back or bosom of the wearer, and the shield may curve slightly back on itself as indicated by numeral 26 in Fig. 4 of the drawings. The curvature of edges I9 allows the shield to naturally and easily assume the position shown affording increased protection to the dress comfort to the wearer, and convenience when installing the shield.

It will be apparent that the shield of the present invention could be formed without the central seam I6 by making opposite panels of a single piece of material, but the seam will be found desirable as providing a line along which the shield will normally flex when being installed, by providing a line which may be matched with a dress seam such as 23 in positioning the shield, and by providing a fold line in case it is desired to fold the shield and use it in such form, dispensing with protection at the back of the sleeve.

The invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specific mechanisms shown and described but departures may be made therefrom, within the scope of the accompanying claims, without departing from the principles of the invention and without sacrificing its chief advantages.

What I claim is:

l. A dress shield comprising a panel of material having a relatively short top edge, a relatively short bottom edge, a convexly curved edge joining said edges, a relatively straight edge extending upwardly from said bottom edge, and a concavely formed edge joining said upper edge and said relatively straight edge.

2. A dress shield having a pair of relatively short upper edges for attachment to a dress at the upper portion of the sleeve, a relatively straight edge substantially normal to said upper edges, a pair of concavely curved edges joining each said upper edge and said straight edge, and a pair of convexly curved edges intersecting each said upper edge, intersecting each other, and curving toward said straight edge.

3. A dress shield comprising a pair of panels each having a relatively short top edge, a relatively short bottom edge, a convexly curved edge joining said edges, a relatively straight edge extending upwardly from said bottom edge, and a concavely formed edge joining said upper edge and said relatively straight edge, said panels being stitched together along their bottom edges with said straight edges substantially in prolongation of each other.

4. A dress shield comprising four panels of material each panel having a relatively short top edge, a relatively short bottom edge, a convexly curved edge joining said edges, a relatively straight edge extending upwardly from said bottom edge, and a concavely formed edge joining said upper edge and said relatively straight edge, said panels being positioned in superposed pairs stitched together along said top, straight and curved edges and the top and bottom panel of each pair being stitched to the corresponding panel of the other pair along the lower edges thereof.

5. A dress shield comprising a length of material having opposite ends said length to be looped to conform to the inner surface of a dress sleeve bringing said ends adjacent each other at the top of the sleeve said length being relatively narrow adjacent said ends and at the central portion between said ends and relatively wider elsewhere, said length having a pair of convex edges to be positioned inwardly of the sleeve toward the body of the wearer.

6. A dress shield comprising a length of material having opposite ends said length to be looped to conform to the inner surface of a dress sleeve and positioned therein bringing said ends adjacent each other at the top of the sleeve said length being relatively narrow adjacent said ends and at the central portion between said ends and relatively wider elsewhere said ends being offset from said central portion longitudinally with reference to a dress sleeve with which the shield is worn, so that lines drawn from said ends substantially normal to the axis of such a dress sleeve do not intersect said central portion.

7. A dress shield comprising a length of material having opposite ends said length to be looped to conform to the inner surface of a dress sleeve and positioned therein bringing said ends adjacent each other at the top of the sleeve said length being relatively narrow adjacent said ends and at a median line between said ends and relatively wider elsewhere, said length having curved edges between said ends and median line toward the inner end of a sleeve when positioned therein, other curved edges toward the outer end of a sleeve when positioned therein extending from said ends and a relatively straight edge joining said other curved edges.

8. A dress shield comprising a panel of material having a relatively short and straight bottom edge adapted to be secured to the same edge of an identical panel in the completed shield forming a natural fold line, and a relatively short top edge for attaching the shield to a dress, said panel having a central body portion between said edges substantially wider than either of said edges, said bottom and top edges being longitudinally offset with respect to each other so that lines normal to the bottom edge in the plane of the panel do not intersect said top edge.

9. A dress shield comprising a panel of material having a relatively short and straight bottom edge adapted to be secured to the same edge of an identical panel in the completed shield forming a natural fold line, a relatively short top edge for attaching the shield to a dress, said panel having a central body portion between said edges substantially wider than either of said edges, said bottom and top edges being longitudinally offset with respect to each other so that lines normal to the bottom edge in the plane of the panel do not intersect said top edge, and curved side edges between said top and bottom edges.

10. A dress shield comprising a length of material having opposite ends said length to be looped to conform to the inner surface of a dress REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 428,534 Sigsbee May 20, 1890 542,991 Crout July 23, 1895 1,720,560 Lipper July 9, 1929 Rasch Mar. 31, 1942 

